Smith training for Milton Keynes Dons in 2013
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Personal information | |||
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Full name | Alan Smith | ||
Date of birth | 28 October 1980 | ||
Place of birth | Rothwell, England | ||
Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
Playing position | Midfielder | ||
Club information | |||
Current team
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Notts County | ||
Number | 4 | ||
Youth career | |||
1996–1998 | Leeds United | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1998–2004 | Leeds United | 172 | (38) |
2004–2007 | Manchester United | 61 | (7) |
2007–2012 | Newcastle United | 84 | (0) |
2012 | → Milton Keynes Dons (loan) | 16 | (1) |
2012–2014 | Milton Keynes Dons | 51 | (1) |
2014– | Notts County | 60 | (0) |
National team | |||
1999–2001 | England U21 | 10 | (3) |
2007 | England B | 1 | (1) |
2001–2007 | England | 19 | (1) |
Teams managed | |||
2017 | Notts County (caretaker) | ||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 02:24, 28 January 2017 (UTC). |
Alan Smith (born 28 October 1980) is an English footballer who plays for Notts County. He has also represented the England national football team, winning 19 caps.
Smith first came to prominence as both a striker and a right winger during his early days at Leeds United before Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson converted him to a holding midfielder after breaking his leg and dislocating his ankle against Liverpool, a role in which he continued after his transfer to Newcastle United. Smith has earned a reputation as a hard-tackling player and is noted for his high work rate.
He had a short spell as Caretaker manager of Notts County, but has now reverted back to his player-coach role after the appointment of Kevin Nolan as manager.
Smith was born and raised in Rothwell, West Yorkshire, where he attended Rodillian School.
Smith started his career with Leeds and scored in his first team debut against Liverpool, aged 18. He went on to become an undisputed first-choice, as the side consolidated on domestic and European fronts, reaching the semi-finals of the 2000–01 Champions League. Smith was part of an offensive line that included Michael Bridges and Australian Mark Viduka.
His senior FA Premier League debut was as a substitute for Leeds against Liverpool at Anfield, where he displayed his natural scoring ability by scoring with one of his first touches of the ball. That goal helped propel him into the 1998–99 English football season, as he was one-half of manager David O'Leary's first-choice striker pairing, along with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.